A minister was called to the hospital. Caroline, a beautiful baby
girl the minister had recently baptized, had been diagnosed with a
malignant tumor intertwined with her spinal cord at the base of her
brain. Caroline’s young parents were stunned with hurt and grief. The
minister stayed with the couple throughout the night. But he had no idea
what he could do or say. Say something! He kept telling himself. A
prayer, a verse from Scripture, anything!
But all he could do was cry with the couple.
After some time, the pediatric oncologist came in and outlined a
plan to treat the child. The minister was relieved, of course – but
realized that he had nothing to give this family that mattered. Feeling
helpless, he decided then and there to leave the ministry and do
something more useful and constructive with his life.
Later that night, the child’s parents asked the minister for a favor.
“We’re exhausted. Caroline won’t stop crying. Could you hold
her for a little while so we can step out and take a break?”
The minister took Caroline in his arms and rocked her. She cried,
and the minister cried, and then, having expended all her energy, she
drifted off to sleep. The minister kept rocking little Caroline until her
parents returned, relieved to see their child at peace. They placed
Caroline gently in her crib, and the minister said his goodbyes.
As he stepped into the cold night air, he realized that he would not
leave the ministry after all, that all his preparing for ordination and
ministry was for this very night: to rock a very sick child to sleep, to
offer her and her family whatever little hope he had, to simply love this
family in God’s name.
This minister discovered that, despite his own doubts about his
ability to do anything that matters, he is able to bring the love of God to
a hurting family. Jesus comes to show us how to transform our own
sense of uselessness and exhaustion into the means for mending broken
hearts and heal wounded spirits. Jesus calls us to take on the “yoke” of
hope in the midst of despair and the “burden” of compassion under the
weight of fear and hurt. The “yoke” of the Gospel Jesus is “easy” in the
joy it brings to the generous heart; it’s made “light” by the love of God
that we are able to bring into the lives we touch.
Tags: 7-9-2023